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Akio Ohtori
"''The Morning Star...also known as Lucifer. The star that was originally an angel, but chose to become the Devil."'' ''- Akio Ohtori'' '''Akio Ohtori (鳳 暁生 Ohtori Akio) is the closest character to a main antagonist the series has. He is the acting chairman of Ohtori Academy, the fiance of Kanae Ohtori and the older brother of Anthy Himemiya. Although he barely present in the first season of the show, he later plays a pivotal role in the second and third seasons. Story In his youth, Akio and Prince Dios were apparently one and the same, but he became corrupted and lost his purpose as a "prince". Given the origin of his name and his role in the story, Akio may be compared to a fallen angel. In the manga, Anthy Himemiya split the two intentionally; in the anime, his fall is more vague; it appears to be catalyzed by Anthy, but likewise also by his own loss of faith in the world which tortures both him and his sister. In order to regain the power he lost when he lost his nobility, he creates the Dueling Game in order to create a Duelist with a sword noble and powerful enough to break the Rose Gate sealing his lost power. In the movie, "Dios" is merely an illusion created by Anthy to hide her brother's flaws so she can have a hero to believe in. In the anime, Akio uses Utena Tenjou's familiarity with his "better half" to his advantage and becomes her lover, in order to test whether or not her nobility is strong enough to choose saving her friend over being with her supposed-Prince. Akio appears to dominate his sister Anthy both personally and sexually; their incestuous and power-driven relationship is key to Anthy's behavior in both the anime (where Anthy is held in thrall to her brother) and the movie (where events cause the balance of power to shift dramatically). However, the power is not completely held by Akio, as he is dependent upon Anthy to carry out the dueling game as the rose bride and use her supposed magic as a witch. In the anime, Akio pretends to hold genuine love for Anthy, manipulating her by claiming to feel her pain, despite often using brute force with her and usually being shown as the dominant and sole-speaking figure in their conversations, as well as claiming her pain is caused by the world rather than himself. He is driven by his selfishness and very nature to continue his role in the duels. He grieves over his lost role of the Prince, but —as Anthy herself points out— he chose the path he walked down. Akio is also a remarkable playboy with many and varied conquests. The list includes Utena Tenjou, Kozue Kaoru and even Kanae Ohtori's mother. Akio's trademark symbol is his jazzy automobile, in which he invites friends, Duelists, and potential sexual partners to take a midnight ride. Creator Kunihiko Ikuhara has stated Akio's general appearance and presentations, as well as his car, are meant to represent the adult world and adult power. he also the faceless Prince that Utena wants to be with but over all the hard ships she faced to see her Prince, she choose to save Anthy. Trivia * The name Akio means "dawn" (暁) (aki) and "life" (生) (o). ** It can also mean "Beginning/Ending of Life". At one point, he makes a pun on his name that derives from ake no myoujou ("The Shining Star of the Morning"), the Japanese name for Venus, which is identified with Lucifer. * Akio's surname '''Ohtori '''means "large bird" or "big bird" in Japanese. ** The name refers to the Feng-Huang (Chinese Phoenix), which symbolizes the dual balance of the Yang (male) and Yin (female) energies of the Tao and embodies the Five Virtues of Chinese medicine. The European Phoenix is a creature that is born in the morning and dies at night to be reborn at the next dawn. * Akio's identity of Prince Dios refers to Dios, an Italian word that means "Divine" or "God-like". Gallery Akio.jpg Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Duelists